Canonical HTML: https://unfairtrading.com/subscription-contracts/

Page title: Subscription contracts under sections 48B to 48H | Unfair Trading Australia

Recorded content version: 2026-09-14

Australian implementation guide

# Subscription contracts under sections 48B to 48H

The Act defines recurring, automatically continuing, free-to-paid and discount-to-higher-price subscription structures, subject to exclusions. Section 48D governs offer disclosure; section 48E depends on regulations prescribing covered contracts, information and times; section 48F governs exit for consumer or qualifying standard-form small-business subscriptions. These provisions must not be collapsed into one universal checklist.

Commences 1 July 202714 September 2026

**Offer disclosure**

Section 48D has its own operative scope and presentation standard

**Ongoing notices**

Section 48E requires prescription of class, information and times

**Exit**

Section 48F plus sections 48G to 48H scope tests

## Statements and evidence

Source comparisons and retained baselines are identified separately; no personal legal review is implied. [Data coverage and date meanings](https://unfairtrading.com/data/).

**Subscription contracts under sections 48B to 48H: Legal fact**

The Act defines recurring, automatically continuing, free-to-paid and discount-to-higher-price subscription structures, subject to exclusions. Section 48D governs offer disclosure; section 48E depends on regulations prescribing covered contracts, information and times; section 48F governs exit for consumer or qualifying standard-form small-business subscriptions. These provisions must not be collapsed into one universal checklist.

Status: Commences 1 July 2027

Earlier source baseline: 2026-08-09. Source comparison: 2026-09-14. Automated source-content comparison. This source comparison checked the amending Act, register records, Treasury and ACCC material, and the research basis of the learning library. The latest ACL compilation was identified, but its full consumer-law volume could not be retrieved. Negative search results do not establish that no later instrument exists. Illustrative practice labels remain editorial analysis.

Revision: au-subscription-scope@7da00a12ae5650bb768de624484f6fce0b5ddc36a12f5d4265c2f8758e362481

- [Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade): supports. Schedule 1, inserted ACL sections 48B to 48H

- [Competition and Consumer Act 2010, including Schedule 2: Australian Consumer Law](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest): qualifies. Context and qualifications in the linked source; see the article source list.

- [Unfair trading tricks and traps to be banned](https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/andrew-leigh-2025/media-releases/unfair-trading-tricks-and-traps-be-banned): qualifies. Context and qualifications in the linked source; see the article source list.

[Cite or inspect this claim](https://unfairtrading.com/data/#au-subscription-scope)

**ACL section 48D: Legal fact**

Subscription offer status, liability, period, continuation, notice and exit disclosure.

Status: Commences 1 July 2027

Earlier source baseline: 2026-08-09. Source comparison: 2026-09-14. Automated source-content comparison. This source comparison checked the amending Act, register records, Treasury and ACCC material, and the research basis of the learning library. The latest ACL compilation was identified, but its full consumer-law volume could not be retrieved. Negative search results do not establish that no later instrument exists. Illustrative practice labels remain editorial analysis.

Revision: au-s48d@67a744eefb266494afb502dc2ab7834592447be05fd019a38a85a3969708e1d5

- [Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade): supports. Act No. 64, 2026, Schedule 1, ACL section 48D

[Cite or inspect this claim](https://unfairtrading.com/data/#au-s48d)

**ACL section 48E: Legal fact**

Prescribed contract classes, information and times are required before a final notification matrix exists.

Status: Regulation pending

Earlier source baseline: 2026-08-09. Source comparison: 2026-09-14. Automated source-content comparison. This source comparison checked the amending Act, register records, Treasury and ACCC material, and the research basis of the learning library. The latest ACL compilation was identified, but its full consumer-law volume could not be retrieved. Negative search results do not establish that no later instrument exists. Illustrative practice labels remain editorial analysis.

Revision: au-s48e@c9d46c71391f98862f62531ad0bfd315b21ef6d7dea37373bbeaac5d651e0fd1

- [Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade): supports. Act No. 64, 2026, Schedule 1, ACL section 48E

[Cite or inspect this claim](https://unfairtrading.com/data/#au-s48e)

## Which structures are subscriptions?

Section 48B covers indefinite recurring supply with automatic payment, fixed periods that continue unless stopped, free periods followed by automatic payment, and discounted periods followed by automatic payment at a higher rate. A right to end is part of the definition. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)

## What must be said before agreement?

Section 48D requires the offer to identify the subscription arrangement and disclose liabilities, period, continuation, required notice, exit method and prescribed matters with the enacted timing, clarity and proximity standards. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)

## Why is there no final reminder cadence?

Section 48E requires regulations to prescribe the covered subscription contract or class, information and each time. Sensible reminders can be editorial implementation guidance, but no fixed interval is presented here as enacted law. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)

## How does small-business scope work?

Sections 48E and 48F can apply to qualifying standard-form subscriptions where the subscriber meets the employee or turnover threshold. This does not convert section 28B into a general B2B prohibition. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)

## What does this look like in a customer journey?

Illustrative example 1 · Trial converting to an annual subscription

A fictional design service offers a 14-day trial that automatically converts to a $360 annual charge, while the annual liability, continuation and ending method sit below a fixed mobile agreement control.

Why it may matter: The offer may require separate section 48D analysis from commencement. Notification duties under section 48E and exit duties under section 48F have different scope and cannot be inferred from the offer screen alone.

Illustrative example 2 · Small-business software renewal

A fictional 12-person business accepts a standard-form software subscription that renews automatically, but the supplier records neither subscriber-size evidence nor whether the particular obligation uses the small-business scope.

Why it may matter: Sections 48E and 48F include qualifying standard-form small-business routes, while section 48D has a different operative scope. Collapsing them can produce both missed and invented requirements.

Illustrative customer journey

### Interface comparison

Potentially problematicStart 14-day free trial

Start 14-day free trial. Later annual price and continuation hidden below the agreement control

Later annual price and continuation hidden below the agreement control

→

Neutral alternativeStart 14-day trial

Start 14-day trial. $360 per year from 15 September until ended · Review terms

$360 per year from 15 September until ended · Review terms

Abstract comparison between a free-trial offer hiding the later annual subscription and an offer stating the annual price, start date, continuation and terms.Provenance: Original abstract interface created by the portal editorial team; no real business, product, customer or interface is depicted.

## What is a fairer or lower-risk alternative?

Classify the contract structure and exclusions first, then map section 48D offer information, section 48E prescribed notifications and section 48F ending methods separately. Record consumer or qualifying small-business scope only where the particular provision uses it, and keep later prescription dependencies configurable.

## What is regulated, proposed or still open?

Status and source mapping for Subscription contracts under sections 48B to 48H

Evidence layer; Status; What the source supports;

Subscription definition and offer rule; Commences 1 July 2027; Sections 48B to 48D define covered subscription structures, exclusions and offer disclosures. Section 48D is not limited by the consumer or qualifying small-business tests that constrain sections 48E and 48F. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade);

Possible section 28B overlap; Commences 1 July 2027; A subscription design may also engage section 28B, but “subscription trap” is a UX taxonomy label rather than an automatic finding under the full general test. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade);

Existing ACL; Current enforcement; Existing misleading-conduct, representation and unfair-contract-term rules may apply now on their own elements. [↗Competition and Consumer Act 2010, including Schedule 2: Australian Consumer Law](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest);

Section 48E notification details; Regulation pending; Section 48E has no concrete covered class, required information or timing until prescription. Section 48D has a statutory fallback manner and section 48F has a core rule despite possible prescribed exceptions. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade);

Regulator implementation material; Guidance pending; Government funding and committee material anticipate ACCC education or guidance; no dedicated final guide is treated as published. [↗Unfair trading tricks and traps to be banned](https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/andrew-leigh-2025/media-releases/unfair-trading-tricks-and-traps-be-banned)[↗Inquiry into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/UnfairTradingBill2026);

Lifecycle-control recommendations; Editorial implementation guidance; Reminder configuration, evidence mapping and lifecycle ownership are editorial portal recommendations. They are not fixed statutory reminder intervals or compliance certification. [↗Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)[↗Competition and Consumer Act 2010, including Schedule 2: Australian Consumer Law](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest);

## What should teams review?

- Which section 48B structure and exclusion describes each recurring arrangement?

- Which duties use consumer or qualifying standard-form small-business scope, and what evidence supports it?

- Which notification settings remain dependent on regulations rather than final law?

### Evidence to retain

- Contract taxonomy and subscriber-scope decision record

- Versioned offer copy and agreement-event evidence

- Configurable notification and cancellation lifecycle map

## Subscription contract classifier

General information only. The result is not legal advice or a certificate.

1. Does the arrangement recur, continue automatically, convert free-to-paid or increase automatically after a discount? Yes No / unsure2. Does the contract include a right for the subscriber to end it? Yes No / unsure3. Is it a lease, real-property licence, hire-purchase, instalment contract, specified childcare/school tuition or prescribed excluded kind? Yes No / unsure4. Is the subscriber a consumer or a qualifying small business on a standard-form contract? Yes No / unsure

Planning indication

Answer the questions to see issues for review.

Source basis: Act No. 64 of 2026; verify facts and later instruments before relying on a result.

[Flowlane](https://www.getflowlane.com/?utm_source=unfairtrading.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide-subscription-contracts): For Australian consumer-journey compliance testing, it follows available trial, plan-selection, payment, account and cancellation states and organises the captured interfaces for lifecycle, product and legal teams. Your team controls subscriber scope and assumptions that still depend on regulations. [Scan a subscription journey →](https://www.getflowlane.com/?utm_source=unfairtrading.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=guide-subscription-contracts)

Evidence base

## Sources

- [Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00064/asmade)Federal Register of Legislation · Primary · checked 2026-09-14 · C2026A00064

- [Competition and Consumer Act 2010, including Schedule 2: Australian Consumer Law](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00109/latest)Federal Register of Legislation · Primary · checked 2026-09-14 · C2004A00109

- [Unfair trading tricks and traps to be banned](https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/andrew-leigh-2025/media-releases/unfair-trading-tricks-and-traps-be-banned)Treasury Ministers · Primary · checked 2026-09-14

- [Inquiry into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/UnfairTradingBill2026)Senate Economics Legislation Committee · Primary · checked 2026-08-09

Source comparison: 14 September 2026 · [Dated findings](https://unfairtrading.com/updates/act-enacted-baseline/) · [Status and updates](https://unfairtrading.com/data/history/)

**What this comparison covered**

The enacted text still sets commencement for 1 July 2027. The ACCC reiterated the forthcoming reforms on 3 September 2026. No dedicated prescribing instrument or final implementation guide was identified in the official locations checked on 14 September.

This source comparison checked the amending Act, register records, Treasury and ACCC material, and the research basis of the learning library. The latest ACL compilation was identified, but its full consumer-law volume could not be retrieved. Negative search results do not establish that no later instrument exists. Illustrative practice labels remain editorial analysis.

Editorial responsibility: [Tobias Reittinger](https://unfairtrading.com/authors/tobias-reittinger/). Published by Flowlane.

Editorial responsibility does not indicate a personal legal review. Original studies and official documents retain their named authors.

**Cite this page**

Subscription contracts under sections 48B to 48H | Unfair Trading Australia. Editorial responsibility: Tobias Reittinger. Unfair Trading Australia. Content version: 2026-09-14. [https://unfairtrading.com/subscription-contracts/](https://unfairtrading.com/subscription-contracts/)

[Claims and sources](https://unfairtrading.com/data/) · [Status and updates](https://unfairtrading.com/data/history/) · [Methodology](https://unfairtrading.com/methodology/) · [Corrections](https://unfairtrading.com/corrections/)

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